With No Budget, Rauner Delivers State of the State Address

Sara Burnett, Ivan Moreno

January 27, 2016

AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File

In this Feb. 4, 2015 file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner delivers his first State of the State address at the Capitol in Springfield. Rauner takes pride in not being like any of Illinois’ previous governors. After the most unusual first year of any new governor in the country, Rauner is starting 2016 with signs that the strangest may be yet to come.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner used his State of the State address Wednesday to make another case for changes he says would make Illinois more competitive, even as he acknowledged that huge opposition from Democrats has prompted a record budget stalemate and crippled social services and other programs.

Rauner touched on many of the same agenda items he's pushed unsuccessfully for the past year: imposing term limits on lawmakers, freezing property taxes and allowing local governments to strip unions' collective bargaining rights.

He also attempted to show he's taking a more bipartisan approach to 2016, saying again that he will back Democratic Senate President John Cullerton's plan to overhaul Illinois' worst-in-the-nation pension system and referencing Cullerton's call for school funding reform in saying he wants to direct more money to classrooms.

"All of us in this chamber had a difficult year together in 2015 as we debated a budget with structural reform," Rauner said. "But it is not too late for this General Assembly to make historic progress for the people of Illinois."

But his roughly 40-minute speech made clear that the battle lines over a budget impasse about to enter its eighth month haven't changed. And Democrats — almost all of whom refrained from joining Republicans in applauding the governor — were quick to criticize.

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"Until I see substantive progress, my patience with this charade of cooperation has all but dissolved," said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, a Democrat from Maywood.

Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature have been unable to agree on a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Democrats want the governor to approve a tax increase to help close a roughly $5 billion deficit. Rauner says he won't sign off on a tax hike until Democrats give him some of his "structural reforms." Democrats have refused, saying those changes will hurt working families and drive down wages while helping Illinois' highest earners get richer.

Without a budget, social service agencies have had to close and thousands of college students aren't receiving state grants to help pay for tuition.

Last week, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois announced that it would close 30 safety-net programs and lay off 750 employees because of $6 million in overdue bills from the state. The programs impacted include services for the homeless, mentally ill and seniors who need home care. Chicago State University has said that come March, it won't be able to make payroll.

The governor also touted his efforts to "transform" state government, from overhauling health and human services to reducing the state prison population by 25 percent over the next decade by focusing more on rehabilitation rather than imprisonment.

He called for holding schools more accountable through testing and offering low-income students more "quality school choice options."

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery ripped Rauner's plan as "so-called education reforms" that won't improve teaching or student success and said the governor has failed on his top responsibility — the budget.

"His calls for bipartisanship are difficult to take seriously, especially given his identical words last year and his unwillingness or inability to lead since," Montgomery said.

Rauner noted that other places, including left-leaning states such as Massachusetts, have passed similar reforms and said he stands ready to work for a deal.

"To achieve a grand compromise, we must cast partisanship and ideology aside,"Rauner said. "We must break from the politics of the past and do what is right for the long-term future of our state."